Electrical connector with resiliently mounted removable contacts



Aprll 3, 1962 A. M. MONTE 3,02 ,5

ELECTRICAL CON OR WITH RESILIENTLY MOUNTED E OVABLE CONTACTS Filed Aug.19, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 |||||l||l||l|nll| llllllllllll i I I ullUQTTQENEYS April 1962 A. M. Dl MONTE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITHRESILIENTLY MOUNTED REMOVABLE CONTACTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 19,1959 3,028,574 ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITH RESHLIENTLY MOUNTED REMOVABLECONTAQTS Angelo M. Di Monte, Lewisboro, N.Y., assignor to WinchesterElectronics, incorporated, Norwalk, Conm, a

corporation of Connecticut Filed Aug. 19, 1959, Ser. No. 8154,5313 9Claims. (Cl. 339-61) The present invention relates to electricalconnectors and relates, more particularly, to an electrical connectorhaving resiliently mounted removable contacts.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connectorin which pre-wired contacts can be readily inserted or removed asdesired. In such a connector, prewired contacts may be quicldy insertedin the connector for any desired wiring arrangement, can similarly beremoved for replacement or a different wiring arrangement with a minimumof diificulty. The use of pre-wired contacts also prevents possibledamage to the wiring terminals during the Wiring operation and itpermits the use of crimped, solderless connections in connectors wherethe close spacing of the contacts would not permit the insertion ofcrimping tools or the like to make such connections.

I A further object of the invention is to provide a connector havingremovable contacts which are mounted in a body of resilient, rubber-likematerial. The use of such' a material for the connector body insuresintimate contact between opposing faces of two connectors so as tominimize the efiects of leakage between adjacent contacts due toatmospheric conditions. It also prevents damage to the contacts andminimizes the possibility of poor connections due to vibration.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentand best understood from the following description and the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary .view on an enlarged scale in vertical sectionof an electrical connector embodying the present invention illustratingthe contacts in different po-' sitions;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view in partial section on an enlarged scale ofan assembled contact and retaining member of the connector shown in FIG.l;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view in vertical section on an enlarged scale ofan electrical connector embodying the invention with the male contactsand illustrating the contacts in different positions;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view in partial section on an enlarged scale ofan assembled contact and retaining member of the connector shown in FIG.3; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view in partial section of a retaining member for theconnectors shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

' Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 3 illustrate the female andmale connectors and 11 respectively, of a pair of electrical connectorsmade in accordance with the present invention. For convenience andbrevity, similar reference characters have been used to identifycorresponding parts in the two connectors. The connectors illustratedare of the miniature type and each connector has a plurality of closelyspaced contactswhich engage with corresponding contacts in the otherconnector when the two connectors are brought into engagement with eachother in the usual manner.

As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 10 comprises a body 12 of a resilientrubber-like material such as neoprene having suitable insulating anddielectric properties. The

body of the connector contains bores 13 in each of which r 3,028,574Patented Apr. 3, T962 erably molded in bores at the time of forming thebody and are suitably bonded to the side walls of the bores.

The retaining member is formed of metal and has a sleeve-like portion 16at the inner end thereof from which four spring gripping fingers 17extend. The interior surfaces of the fingers taper inwardly from thesleeve and terminate at a shoulder 18 which is spaced from the outer endof the retaining member. The fingers are counterbored at their outerends to the same diameter as the sleeve portion and are provided with aflared opening 1? for the reception of a removal tool 20.

When assembled to a contact, as shown for example in FIG. 2, the outerend of the contact, which includes a female receptacle 21, extendsthrough the retaining member with the end of the sleeve portion abuttingagainst a shoulder 22 of an enlarged terminal portion 23 of the contact.The shoulders 18 on the interior surfaces of the fingers 17 engage witha shoulder 24 formed at the end of a reduced portion 25 of the contact.Thus, the contact is held against movement in either direction relativeto the retaining member.

The spring gripping fingers are urged into engagement with the contactby not only the resiliency of the metal from which they are formed, butalso by the resiliency of the rubber-like material from which the bodyis formed which opposes any tendency of the fingers to spread apart whencontacts are inserted or removed. This permits the retaining member tobe made from ordinary metal such as brass or stainless steel withoutheat treatment ,and they can be made of relatively thin stock.

The connector shown in FIG. 3 also has a body 12a ofresilient-rubber-like material which has a plurality of closely spaced,contact receiving bores 13a formed therein with retaining members, asdescribed above, located in the respective bores. Male contacts 26 whichhave prongs 27 at the forward ends thereof are mounted in the body 12aof this connector. In this instance, the prongs of the contacts extendbeyond the face of the connector body so that they can enter into thefemale receptacle portions of the contacts carried by the otherconnector when the pair of connectors arebrought into opposing relation.

Since less of the male contacts are enclosed within the connector body,the connector body for the male connector is somewhat shorter in heightthan the body for the female connector and the retaining members arelocated somewhat closer to the openings of the bores at the face of theconnector body. Aside from these diiferences, the construction of theconnector bodies, the contacts and the retaining members for the maleand female contacts are the same and the description thereof need not berepeated.

The positions a, b and c of FIGS. 1 and 3 illustrate the contacts beingassembled in and removed from the connectors.

Position a shows a contact being inserted into one of the bores of theconnector bodies. This is readily accomplished by simply pushing apro-wired contact into the bore until the contact is seated in theretaining member as shown in position b. It will be noted that when thecontact is in this position, the terminal portions -23 of the contactsare located entirely within the bores and the junctions of theconnecting wire 28 which are connected thereto are protected andenclosed by the sidewalls of the bores.

It should also be noted that the assembly of the contacts to theretaining members in this manner, permits the connecting wires to besecured to thecontacts by a crimping operation which would otherwise beimpractical in instances where the contactsare closely spaced. However,soldered connections may be used if desired.

To remove a contact for replacement or to change the wiring of theconnector, the removal tool 20 is inserted through the opening of thebore in the face of the connector body as shown in position c. The endof the removal tool is shaped to engage with the flared opening at theends of the spring fingers and upon engagement therewith, it forces thespring fingers apart against the resiliency of the connector body untilthe end of the tool is seated against the shoulder 18 at the end of thecounterbore in the retaining member. This releases the contact formovement in a rearward direction and it can then be readily removed'fromthe connector body by pulling on the connecting wire or the contact canbe forced out by prolviding a centrally located movable member withinthe too The bodies for the female and male connectors are mounted inmetal shells 29 which are provided with flanges 30 at their lower ends.The flanges on the respective connectors may be arranged so that theywill telescope when the connectors are brought together.

To bring the opposing contacts and the mating faces of the connectorbodies of the pair of connectors into engagement, a rotatable jack screw31 is carried by the male connector at one end thereof and engages witha socket 32 carried by the female connector. For polarization purposes,a similar rotatable member with a socket is carried at the other end ofthe male connector and a screw engaging therewith is carried by thefemale connector.

It will be understood that various modifications and changes may be madein the embodiment of the invention illustrated and described hereinwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An electrical connector comprising a body of resilient materialhaving a bore extending therethrough, a metal contact retaining memberlocated in a fixed position entirely within the bore, said memberincluding a sleevelike portion defining a contact receiving opening andhaving a series of spring fingers extending therefrom, said springfingers having outer surfaces which are in engagement at the outer endsthereof with the surface defining the bore in the body and havinginterior surfaces tapering inwardly as they extend from the sleeve-likeportion and terminating at shoulders spaced inwardly from the outer endsof said fingers and an electrical contact removably mounted in saidbore, said contact having an end extending through the contact retainingmember in the bore and having a portion of reduced section intermediateits ends, said reduced portion having shoulders at opposite ends thereofone of which engages with the sleeve-like portion of the retainingmember and the other of which engages with the shoulders at the ends ofthe tapered interior surfaces of the spring fingers whereby the contactis held against movement relative to the body of the connector.

2. An electrical connector as defined in claim 1 wherein the electricalcontact includes a wiring terminal having a wire electrically connectedthereto, said wiring terminal and a portion of the wire connectedthereto being located within the bore in the connector body.

3. An electrical connector as defined in claim 1 which includes a metalshell surrounding and attached to the resilient connector body.

4. An electrical connector comprising a body of resilient materialhaving a bore extending therethrough, a metal contact retaining memberlocated in a fixed position entirely within the bore, said contactretaining member including a sleeve-like portion defining a contactreceiving opening and having a series of spring fingers extendingtherefrom, said spring fingers having outer surfaces which are inengagement at the outer ends thereof with the surface defining the borein the body and having interior surfaces tapering inwardly as theyextend from the sleevelike portion and terminating at shoulders spacedinwardly from the outer ends of said fingers, the outer ends of saidfingers defining an enlarged opening extending from the shoulders to theouter ends of the fingers and an electrical contact removably mounted insaid bore, said contact having an end extending through the contactretaining member in the bore and having a portion of reduced sectionintermediate its ends, said reduced portion having shoulders at oppositeends thereof one of which engages with the sleeve-like portion of theretaining member and the other of which engages with the shoulders atthe ends of the tapered interior surfaces of the spring fingers wherebythe contact is held against movement relative to the body of theconnector.

5. An electrical connector as defined in claim 1 wherein the outer endsof the spring fingers of the retaining member define an opening largerthan the end of the electrical contact extending therethrough, saidopening being shaped for the insertion of a removal tool between theouter ends of the spring fingers and the end of the contact extendingtherethrough.

6. An electrical connector comprising a body of resilient materialhaving a plurality of closely spaced bores extending therethrough, ametal contact retaining member located in a fixed position entirelywithin each of said bores, each of said retaining members including asleevelilze portion defining a contact receiving opening and having aseries of opposing spring fingers extending therefrom, said fingershaving outer surfaces engaging throughout their length with a surface ofthe body defining the bore with the outer ends thereof defining anenlarged opening and having interior surfaces tapering inwardly from thesleeve-like portion to shoulders formed at the bottom of said enlargedopening and an electrical contact removably mounted in each of saidbores, each of said contacts having an end extending through the contactrctaining members in the respective bores and having a portion ofreduced section intermediate its ends,,said reduced portion havingshoulders at opposite ends thereof one of which engages with thesleeve-like portion of the retaining member and the other of whichengages with the shoulders at the ends of the tapered interior surfacesof the spring fingers whereby the contact is held against movementrelative to the body of the connector.

7. An electrical connector as defined in claim 6 wherein each of theelectrical contacts includes a wiring terminal having a wireelectrically connected thereto, said Wiring terminal and a portion ofthe wire connected thereto being located within the bore in theconnector body.

8. An electrical connector as defined in claim 6 wherein the enlargedopening at the outer ends of the spring fingers is shaped to receive anend of a removal tool between the spring fingers and the end of thecontact located therein.

9. In an electrical connector, the combination comprising a connectorbody of resilient material having a bore extending therethrough andcontact-retaining means located within said bore intermediate the endsthereof, said contact-retaining means comprising a cylindrically shapedbody having a front end and a rear end with an opening extendingtherethrough, said cylindrical body being split at its front end to formexpandable fingers, said fingers having inner surfaces defining theopening in the cylindrical body and having outer surfaces extendingalong and contacting with the surface of the connector body defining thebore therein, said inner surfaces of the fingers including portionstapering inwardly toward the front end of the cylindrical body andhaving an internal shoulder spaced from the front end of the cylindricalbody.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,383,926 White Aug. 28, 1945 2,419,018 Gudie Apr. 15, 1947 2,685,073Damon July 27, 1954 2,917,722 Cobbett et al. Dec. 15, 1959

